Jordan's king inaugurates newly elected parliamentFebruary 10, 2013 - 15:36 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Jordan's king has inaugurated the kingdom's newly elected parliament with a pledge to press ahead with democratization, but added that he will help choose the next prime minister despite the choice having been formally given to the legislature. According to The Associated Press, Abdullah II's speech was delivered on Sunday, Feb 10, to lawmakers elected last month. Government officials say that this legislature will have more power than any of its predecessors, in line with a reform process meant to forestall any large-scale Arab Spring unrest. But the Jan 23 polls were boycotted by the best organized opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, and yielded a body dominated by inexperienced independents. An official said that the king wanted to avoid "political chaos." Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | International cybercrime ringleaders arrested in Armenia, Ukraine Europol, Europe's crime agency, has arrested four ringleaders of several cybercrime networks that used botnets. Armenia skips CSTO Defense Ministers meeting A meeting of the Council of Defense Ministers of the Collective Security Treaty Organization countries began in Almaty. Armenian, Iranian foreigh policy chief talk over the phone The Foreign Minister of Armenia once again expressed condolences to his counterpart on the death of the President of Iran. Armenia, U.S. customs authorities to boost assistance with new deal The government has approved an agreement with the U.S. government on mutual assistance between the customs authorities. |